Investing.com – Wall Street moved higher amid a flood of earnings on Tuesday as both the Dow and Nasdaq hit new record highs.
At 12:02PM ET (17:02GMT), the Dow Jones rose 64 points, or 0.32%, the S&P 500 advanced 3 points, or 0.15%, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 21 points, or 0.36%.
With the fourth quarter reporting season more than halfway over, The Earnings Scout warned that aggregate earnings-per-share estimates were on track to go lower when the earnings period ends for a 23rd consecutive quarter.
But analysts from LPL Financial said that 2017 estimates were down less than 1% during earnings season, “above average and a positive sign”.
Among big movers on earnings, Michael Kors (NYSE:KORS) crashed 13% as the luxury goods maker’s revenue missed estimates and guidance disappointed.
General Motors (NYSE:GM) saw shares sink more than 4% as forex losses hit fourth quarter profit and the automaker forecast that profit-per-share would be flat in 2017.
In a big move to the upside, Centene (NYSE:CNC) jumped nearly 6% as both top and bottom line beat estimates thanks an increase in members at the health insurer.
Outside of earnings, FXCM (NASDAQ:FXCM) lost nearly half of its stock value as its U.S. subsidiary Forex Capital Markets reached a $7 million settlement with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and it announced a withdrawal of all business in the U.S.
On the macro front, the trade deficit narrowed more than expected in December, shrinking to $44.3 billion in a context market by President Donald Trump’s promises to improve trade deals with the rest of the world.
Additionally, the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) revealed that job openings fell more than expected in December, but continued to show a healthy labor market.
Meanwhile, oil fell sharply on Tuesday, touching the lowest level in more than two weeks, as market players looked ahead to weekly data from the U.S. on stockpiles of crude and refined products.
Industry group the American Petroleum Institute is due to release its weekly report at 4:30PM ET (21:30GMT) later on Tuesday.
U.S. crude futures lost 1.96% to $51.97 by 12:03PM ET (17:03GMT), while Brent oil traded down 1.58% to $54.84.